The law speaks of an appropriate reduction and names no percentages. Reducing too much creates arrears and can cost you the flat.
✓ Verified: 01/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
The most dangerous step in this route. The right to reduce exists, but the law leaves its size to the circumstances, and erring upwards creates arrears and grounds for termination. The cautious route is paying under reservation.
Tenants’ associations of the Deutscher Mieterbund↗ assess the level for your specific case; for a dispute with the landlord legal expenses insurance helps — tariffs are compared by Check24↗, and advocado↗ provides an initial legal assessment.
I took a percentage from an online table and reduced by it. The landlord calculated differently, the difference accumulated, and the conversation was already about termination.
If unsure about the amount, pay in full and state your reservation to reclaim. Money comes back; a flat after termination does not.
No. The law speaks of an appropriately reduced rent and leaves the assessment to the individual case. Tables online are compiled from judgments and serve as orientation, but another case’s percentage cannot be transferred to yours.
The difference counts as arrears. Once they reach a certain number of monthly payments, the landlord gains grounds to terminate. That is exactly why aggressive reduction is the most expensive option available.
Yes: pay the full rent while stating in writing that payment is made subject to reclaiming any overpayment. That creates no arrears and preserves your claim once the proper level is established.
Under prevailing practice, from the total rent including service charges rather than the base rent alone. An error in that basis changes the result noticeably and is a common one.